The Return of the Legendary Golden-Handed Blacksmith - Chapter 79
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 79
Episode 79.
‘I hadn’t intended to max out the Elder’s affection.’
There was no harm in having a good image.
“Please tell me what favor you wish to ask of me.”
“The Forest of Glory is rotting away. It’s because of the Specter King.”
Elder Cain spoke about the Forest of Glory.
“There are two forces that protect our Elven City. One is the World Tree standing tall over there, and the other is the Forest of Glory. The Forest of Glory is a forest composed of small trees blessed with power from the World Tree. From that forest, we gain much—timber, spirits, and fresh water. But now that forest has been tainted by the Specter King.”
The Elder continued.
“To stand against the Specter King, we need weapons. And the timber to craft those weapons comes from the Forest of Glory.”
Elder Mire added her thoughts.
“So we’re currently in a state where we can do nothing at all.”
Good weapons were needed to face the Specter King, but materials to craft those weapons were unavailable.
“We need the Forest of Glory. If you resolve this for us, Jin-woo, we will never forget that debt.”
Ring—!
-You have received a Quest!
* Quest: Restore the Forest of Glory
Grade: S
Description: The Forest of Glory is rotting due to the Specter King. This forest handles numerous functions for the Elven City. They wish to protect it. Restore the forest to its original state!
Restriction: Failure if the forest disappears
Reward: Trust of the Elf Elders, Additional Rewards (Player’s Discretion)
Jin-woo accepted the Quest.
‘The Elven City has numerous materials.’
Likely the Forest of Glory would yield unique materials as well.
“I will restore it for you.”
* * *
The Elf Elders waited for Cain.
Before long, Cain arrived.
“How did it go, Elder Cain?”
“How did it go?”
“He wouldn’t have started the seamstress art yet. Of course not. How could one learn such a thing easily? So was our condition conveyed, Elder Cain?”
Elder Cain’s expression seemed strange.
“Elder Cain?”
“I conveyed our condition. However.”
Originally, they had planned to ask Jin-woo to resolve the Elven City’s problems in exchange for learning the seamstress art from Mire.
This was because learning Mire’s seamstress art would take considerable time. As that teaching time passed, Mire’s own time would be consumed, meaning she would have less time to aid in Elven City’s crisis.
But now there was no need to consider such things.
“He’s already finished.”
“Finished? What do you mean?”
“Please explain in detail.”
At those words, Elder Cain opened his mouth.
“Jin-woo learned the seamstress art. The Flawless Seamstress Art from Elder Mire.”
“……He learned it?”
“Learned the fundamentals!? In this short time, how is that even—”
“No.”
Elder Cain shook his head.
“He learned it all, even the advanced techniques. I’ve never seen Elder Mire’s eyes shake like that. And I’ve never seen her smile so happily.”
“……That’s, that’s impossible. Elder Cain, did you fall under some hypnosis spell!?”
“How did he learn the Flawless Seamstress Art in less than a single day!?”
Elder Cain fell silent. He had no words.
Even if asked how it happened, he didn’t know. He had only witnessed it himself.
“Then……our proposal has become utterly meaningless, hasn’t it?”
“No.”
It wasn’t.
“He said he would resolve the Forest of Glory matter. Starting tomorrow.”
The Elf Elders were all confused, just as Elder Cain was confused.
“Why……?”
“If he learned the seamstress art he wanted, there’d be no reason for him to do so……!”
“He said he wanted the materials.”
At Elder Cain’s words, everyone fell silent.
“Just what kind of person is he!?”
Everything was confusing.
* * *
Crack! Crack!
Crack!
“Is it even possible to be this good? Su, do you have natural talent?”
Yur watched in bewilderment as the Retainer swung the Pickaxe not just capably, but with impressive skill. The Retainer executed each strike exactly as taught.
“I couldn’t say if I have talent, but you refined my bones well, Master.”
“Ahhhhh.”
Yur spent five seconds in amazement at that reply.
“That’s because Jin-woo is the one.”
The Retainer carefully observed every one of Yur’s reactions.
The minerals they obtained totaled fifteen in all.
“If we mine mediocre ore, it won’t suit Jin-woo well. Given that what you just brought in is a SR-Grade Pickaxe now.”
Yur saw the Millennium Steel Pickaxe that had just been listed on the Auction block.
He’d actually made such a Pickaxe from the Millennium Steel he gave him.
At the sight of an SR-Grade Pickaxe, Yur’s eyes widened noticeably.
But since he already possessed a Pickaxe of equal quality, he decided to be satisfied with what he had. After all, as he kept supplying minerals, Jin-woo would eventually craft him even better equipment, and he’d be the first to use it.
“Millennium-Grade Steel is easy material for Jin-woo. So you need to mine something even better.”
“Yes, Yur.”
The Retainer mined materials that would satisfy Jin-woo, again and again.
“I’m getting greedy here. Su, want to learn more about mining technique?”
Yur admired the Retainer as he watched. Whatever was input came out right, and he was quite quick-witted and clever.
When you taught him one thing, he’d execute two—so from Yur’s perspective, he wanted to teach him more.
“Since it looks like we might end up working together again in the future anyway.”
Yur was confident that as long as he continued mining good minerals, he could maintain his relationship with Jin-woo.
In that process, he’d likely spend considerable time with the Retainer.
“If you become even better at mining, you’ll be able to extract better materials, and moreover, you’ll earn Jin-woo’s recognition. I hear you have quite a few Minions?”
“Yes, I do. I wish to become the best.”
The Minions didn’t harbor ill will toward one another, but naturally there was competitive spirit between them.
It was a competition born from their shared desire to become a Minion that was truly helpful to Jin-woo.
“I want to outdo First.”
First, whom Jin-woo created first, typically wore Jin-woo’s high-end equipment. But that was First’s role.
The Retainer wanted to remain faithful to his own role while helping Jin-woo.
“Then good. Let’s go together.”
Yur slapped the Retainer’s back with a thud.
Crash—!
“P-please be careful.”
It was bone that Jin-woo had crafted.
“You could injure yourself.”
“I already did.”
Yur’s hand had turned purple.
* * *
That evening.
Jin-woo began crafting equipment with the cloth he’d obtained from Mire.
-Ridley Munster [Grade: SR]
Description: Cloth called the Night’s Veil. Woven from special climbing plants found in the Elven City.
-Thunderdust [Grade: SR]
Description: Cloth that holds the sun’s power. It shines with a beautiful golden light. Made by processing flower petals that hold the morning sun’s warmth.
Thunderdust was golden cloth, while Ridley Munster was silver cloth.
He still had the Leafweave he’d used earlier, and even finer-quality Silkria was in Jin-woo’s hands.
“These are definitely materials gathered to face the Specter King.”
Jin-woo spread out the SR-Grade cloths. Then, between them, he took out materials he’d obtained by hunting Furufuru, an Incarnation of Evil.
Shadow Cloth.
A high-grade SR-Grade material that Jin-woo hadn’t been able to use because his skill was insufficient.
“Finally I can use it.”
Jin-woo immediately began handling the Shadow Cloth.
“Mm.”
After learning the Flawless Seamstress Art, touching this Shadow Cloth again felt completely different.
‘It’s a tier above the materials I have here.’
The grade was the same, but the latent potential it possessed was different.
“I’ll use the Shadow Cloth as the main component.”
It seemed he could stitch it together with the other materials combined.
“Practice is over.”
He’d already made various things while learning the Flawless Seamstress Art from Mire earlier.
Cutting, stitching, knotting. That entire process remained vivid in Jin-woo’s hands.
“A robe.”
Shhhhhhk—.
Jin-woo cut the Shadow Cloth. The long Shadow Cloth was severed precisely to robe length. Then he also cut the Thunderdust to match.
“This should be interesting.”
Shadow Cloth was cloth imbued with the power of darkness.
Thunderdust, meanwhile, clearly held the sun’s power, evident from its golden hue.
“They hold opposite powers.”
Shadow and sun.
Yet on second thought, it was hard to call them completely opposite forces.
“From what I see, there should be genuine synergy here.”
When does shadow form?
“Not at night. Darkness isn’t the main cause.”
Shadow forms on the opposite side of light.
Which meant sun and shadow were one and the same.
‘If anything, the stronger the sun’s power grows, the stronger the shadow’s power must become.’
Jin-woo focused on this synergy.
Of course, if he made a mistake, there was a high chance they’d collide. The sun’s power could become so overwhelming that no shadow remained at all.
But controlling that gap and balancing the two was the crafter’s job.
A skilled crafter had to be able to realize exactly what they imagined.
“The worst that happens is I lose two good materials.”
He could always obtain more good materials.
“Flawless Seamstress Art.”
Cut rapidly.
He united the two cloths into one. In this process, Jin-woo put his effort into the most critical step—the stitching work.
Stitch—. Stitch—.
‘Thread.’
The Flawless Seamstress Art converted mana into thread.
Jin-woo focused on this thread as well.
‘Not just ordinary thread—it needs to be stronger.’
For that, he needed to draw out mana generously.
‘But if I pour in too much strength, the thread becomes uneven. It has to be uniform.’
Everything was connected.
Cloth, stitching, cutting, knotting.
And thread.
‘At first, it’s bound to all be misaligned.’
Or one element alone might protrude. That was natural—no one could master everything at once. But to create good equipment, he needed to excel at all of it.
‘That’s the defining characteristic of the Flawless Seamstress Art. It seems remarkably different from other seamstress arts.’
The Flawless Seamstress Art required excellence in all aspects. Other seamstress arts could produce good equipment even if one element fell slightly short, but with this art, such shortcomings resulted in a ruined final product.
‘But in exchange.’
If you accepted that risk and succeeded, you could reach a realm that ordinary seamstress arts could never achieve.
‘That’s why it’s called Flawless.’
Stitch—.
Jin-woo repeated the stitching rapidly.
But the moment he began stitching cloths of conflicting properties, a massive shockwave erupted.
Crack-crack-crack—!
Suddenly the two stitched cloths made a sound. Crackle—. Jin-woo quickly continued stitching. If he hadn’t, they would have torn immediately.
A critical situation where the two materials could be damaged. Instead, Jin-woo boldly pressed on with his stitching.
“Munzi, Coco.”
Then he cast the knotting technique used to finish the stitching.
“Poof—!”
The summoned Coco and Munzi were quite alarmed. The cloth Jin-woo was working with was on the verge of tearing.
“Screech—!”
It’s going to tear.
It could tear, and worse, it could even explode. The shockwave could spread and seriously injure Jin-woo, so both spirits were worried.
“It’s fine.”
‘I need the power of the knot.’
Mire had only used knotting as the finishing touch to stitching. But knotting had limitless applications. The knot itself served to seal connections strongly.
When stitching alone wasn’t enough, as now, knotting was necessary.
Of course, mindlessly tying knots wouldn’t be the Flawless Seamstress Art.
‘There should be no trace left.’
Jin-woo took a deep breath.
One peak after another.
The difficulty skyrocketed as he boldly joined each material while preserving the characteristics of the Flawless Seamstress Art.
‘What I imagine in my mind and what I do with my hands are really different.’
That was why creating something new was always a joy.
Jin-woo tied the knot firmly.
He was gradually growing accustomed to the power of Munzi and Coco.
Jin-woo tied another knot.
Crack-crackle—. Crack-crackle—!
The Shadow Cloth and Thunderdust tried to tear again, but the two knots held them fast.
‘I bought time.’
This was the crucial moment.
Jin-woo began drawing rune symbols on the cloth.
The runes he drew were Savestra.
‘A resistance rune imbuement.’
This resistance rune imbuement was part of the complete rune imbuement he’d learned from Rigardo’s Grandfather.
‘It increases resistance. Normally it’s a defensive rune imbuement.’
Jin-woo focused on the fact that it increased resistance.
‘To resist the conflicting powers.’
In other words, he planned to balance them with resistance.
Stitch—. Stitch—.
-Rune Imbuement: Savestra
After inscribing the Savestra runes, he added stitching on top.
Tied with a knot once more.
Jin-woo moved into the finishing work.
Then the cloth that had been trying to tear began to calm.
“Screech!”
“Poof-poof—!”
Munzi and Coco cried out.
Incredibly, the cloth wasn’t tearing.
Stitch—. Jin-woo completed the final knot.
-You have created equipment!
-You have achieved a remarkable Achievement!
-Your renown spreads across the Flam Continent!
-Flawless Seamstress Art proficiency increases!
-Rune Imbuement proficiency increases!
-You have created SR+ Grade equipment!
From Jin-woo’s hands, once more an SR+ Grade piece of equipment was born.
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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